This year marks the centennial of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The first 28 years of the Party's history, before the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, are known as the revolutionary period, marking its journey from birth to power.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has said the revolutionary history is the best textbook for Chinese Communists.

The following are some of the key events in the Party's history that Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has spoken of during his visits to various revolutionary sites.

The Red Boat

"Never forget why you started, and you can accomplish your mission," Xi told the Party while addressing the 19th CPC National Congress in 2017.

A week after the national congress, Xi led the top CPC leadership to the sites where the first CPC national congress was held in Shanghai and Jiaxing, revisiting the Party's founding history.

In July 1921, about a dozen young people started the first congress in a brick-and-wood building in the French concession area of Shanghai.

"Comrade Mao Zedong compared this site to the cradle of the CPC. It is a vivid metaphor. I see the site as an anchor of the souls of Chinese Communists," Xi said.

After being harassed, the delegates moved to a boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, to continue their meeting. There, they discussed and passed the Party's first program and resolution.

In the documents, the CPC committed itself to upholding Marxism-Leninism, which laid the direction and cornerstone of the Party, Xi said.

The Nanhu boat is now known as the Red Boat, which "sparked the flame of the Chinese revolution and started the century-spanning voyage of the Party," Xi said.

After 100 years, the CPC has grown from a small party to the world's largest Marxist ruling party with over 91 million members.

The Long March

An iconic event in the CPC revolutionary history is the epic Long March.

From October 1934 to October 1936, the Red Army trekked 12,500 km across the country, repelling more than 1 million enemy troops bent on pursuing it and eventually establishing a revolutionary base in northwest China.

From there, China's revolution has been on the path to victory.

Xi, who described the Long March as an enormously significant event in the Party's history, has visited many sites along the Long March routes.

In May 2019, during a visit to Yudu County in east China's Jiangxi Province, Xi paid tribute to a monument marking the departure of the Central Red Army on the Long March.

Relying on firm faith and strong will, the Party and the Red Army emerged from one impossible situation after another, and secured the final victory, Xi said.

In April 2021, he visited a memorial park in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, commemorating the Battle of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March, which Xi described as a "life-or-death event" for the revolution.

"Revolutionary ideals rise above all else. That is why the Red Army can conquer all enemies and also the secret to the success of the Chinese revolution," Xi said.

In the Long March, the Red Army engaged the enemy more than 600 times, crossed almost 100 rivers, scaled more than 40 peaks -- including more than 20 snow-capped mountains with elevations above 4,000 meters, and traversed vast marshlands and grasslands known as "death traps."

"Every generation has its own long march, and every generation must see that march through," Xi said. "The long march of our generation is to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation."

The exam

Xibaipo, a township about 350 km from Beijing, is an old revolutionary base, where the CPC leadership stationed from May 1948 to early 1949 to draw the blueprint of a new country and prepare for the CPC's new role as the ruling party.

In March 1949, the CPC leadership decided to leave Xibaipo for Beijing. Mao Zedong compared the trek to "going for a big exam in the capital city."

Mao called on the whole Party to remain modest, prudent and free from arrogance and rashness in their style of work, and preserve the style of plain living and hard struggle.

Xi said he had been to Xibaipo many times. "Each time, I came with a lot of respect and left with many thoughts," said Xi while inspecting the township in 2013. During the visit, Xi also urged the whole Party to draw positive energy from the history and stand the tests of the people.

In September 2019, a few days ahead of the 70th founding anniversary of the PRC, Xi visited a revolutionary memorial site in suburban Beijing, where the CPC briefly settled down after leaving Xibaipo.

He again mentioned the relevance of the "big exam" 70 years ago.

The CPC members should always maintain their enterprising spirit, ensure the Party's purity and advanced nature, and pass the test of the new era, Xi stressed.

"Looking ahead, China has very bright prospects for development," Xi said. 

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